A Whole New World
by See Jane Write
Summary: Buffy had followed Riley when he went to Belize. Five years later she comes back to a very different Sunnydale.
1. Default Chapter

A Whole New World

Disclaimer: Joss made up the characters, the places, blah, blah, blah. So they're not mine 'cause I am much younger and also a woman so yea. Don't sue.

Author's Note: It's kind of random, but I found it on my computer and decided to post it for the hell of it.

Sunnydale, 2000

Buffy Summers looked up as the helicopter flew away in the night sky. She tried screaming Riley's name once more, but she had doubts that he was going to turn around and come back. He was going to leave town and never come back just like Angel had. She frowned, a look of sadness coming over her face as she wondered what it was about her that guys didn't like. Was it something she could change or was it just part of living on a Hellmouth? So many things were left unexplained.

She sighed. Well if she could not get Riley to stay in Sunnydale with her, she would just have to go to wherever Riley was going. She paused, trying hard to remember. In a jungle somewhere. She smiled. Belize. She had no idea where Belize was, but she knew that Riley would be there so she would go as well.

She smiled as she headed back to her house. Riley would be so surprised to see her. She could tell him what she meant to tell him that night. That she loved him more than anything and she felt that she needed him to go on with her life, much more than Angel.

She made a face, deciding that mentioning Angel would probably not be the best thing to do if she was talking to Riley. She sighed, knowing to leave Angel out of things. And Parker for that matter, even though Parker was a jerk. It would be good to focus on Riley and leave all other males out of it.

She sighed again and crawled into her house through the window, suddenly wondering when the last time she had done that was. Joyce knew she was the Slayer, she had known for about two and a half years now. Joyce knew when Buffy went patrolling and she occasionally would wait for her to come home.

Buffy shrugged, tossing a few changes of clothes into her backpack. She looked around the room, trying to see what else she needed. She smiled, grabbing Mr. Gordo from her bed and putting him in the bag. After feeling that she had everything she needed, tiptoed quietly down the stairs so she wouldn't wake Dawn or Joyce. She walked into the kitchen and called for a taxi.

She smiled as she left her house. She couldn't wait to see Riley again. She crawled into the taxi and told the driver to take her to the Sunnydale airport. She could not wait to get to Belize and track down Riley.

* * *

Belize, 2005

Buffy groaned again as she angrily tossed some more of her shirts into her suitcase. On top of that, she added more items that included socks, soaps, candles, and her beloved Mr. Gordo. She turned around and looked at the rest of her room, trying to decide what else she could fit in her suitcases. She stopped for a second as if she couldn't believe this was real.

She frowned. It was real. At first things went great. She had arrived in Belize and took about two days to find out where Riley was and go to him. They took things slowly at first, first being friends, then dating, then two years later getting married. Shortly after that, Buffy gave birth to their first son Kyle, both Riley and Buffy claiming that there would be more children to come.

"Then she came along," Buffy muttered angrily to herself. "She" referring to Sam, the female Riley clone. Buffy and Riley were having troubles at that time and Sam had to make things worse. Things were never the same after that and by 2004, Buffy and Riley had officially divorced.

And now Buffy was on her way back to the United States, more specifically Sunnydale, California. She sighed, hoping her friends would be able to forgive her. For everything. For leaving without saying good-bye, for not calling, for not telling them about her temporary insanity when she was Mrs. Riley Finn. Not that those things were entirely her fault. The area they were staying at was totally cut off, so she couldn't exactly call.

"Mommy?" a voice asked from the doorway. Buffy didn't have to turn around to know that it was her son, Kyle. The two-year-old walked over and sat on her bed. "Where we going?" he asked.

Buffy sighed and patted her son's head. She had to get out of here. She didn't even know why she had followed Riley down here in the first place. She had never really loved him. Not romantically. He was her friend and she cared about him, but she never loved him. He was just…there. He was her big, person blankie like Angel used to be.

Buffy sighed, thinking of Angel. She wondered what he was doing. Probably off solving some case with Cordelia and that Doyle guy. She wondered what the Scooby Gang was doing. Willow, Xander, Tara, Giles, Dawn, her mother, Anya, heck, she even wondered what Spike was doing.

Buffy sighed, placing some of Kyle's clothes in a duffel bag. Kyle was the only thing from this life that she was taking back with her. Both she and Riley had agreed it was best for him and them for Kyle to go back and be raised in the United States among friends.

"Mommy?" Kyle asked again, handing Buffy one of his shirts.

Buffy looked down at her son. He was her little boy. He had her hazel eyes, but Riley's brown hair. "We're, uh, going away. To live somewhere else," she said, closing the duffel bag and putting it in a pile with the other suitcases, silently being happy that Riley had arranged for them to take the Initiative's private plane and have it land at Sunnydale Airport.

"Somewhere else?" Kyle asked.

Buffy nodded. "We're gonna go and see some of Mommy's old friends," she said, tossing a bunch of shoes into another bag. "But first we have to finish packing."

* * *

Sunnydale Airport

Buffy looked around the airport for a taxi while holding Kyle to keep him from running out into the street. The little boy was nervous at first about coming, but now that he was here, he was more excited than he ever was before. He wanted to see everything and he didn't want to waste a second. Buffy sighed, picking Kyle up and holding him in her hip to keep him from killing himself.

She waved her free hand out, motioning for the taxi to come closer. She had the suitcase with the most of her and Kyle's clothes in it with her.

Buffy climbed into the taxi, Kyle right behind her. She knew he belonged in a car seat, but she didn't have one for him.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked, sounding very bored.

"1630 Revello," Buffy told him. He sighed and started the taxi, heading out to one of the roads.

Buffy sighed, trying to figure out what to tell her mother and Dawn when she arrived home. She had a lot of explaining to do. Why she left, who Kyle was…

Before Buffy knew what was happening, something jumped in the road in front of the taxi. The driver couldn't stop in time. The last thing Buffy remembered was ducking over her son's body and hoping that he would be ok.

* * *

Sunnydale Hospital

Buffy opened her eyes slowly, wondering where she was. She was afraid that her arm was gone. She smiled, as she could move her fingers. Fingers were attached to her wrist, which is attached to her arm. She sighed, opening her eyes wider and looking at the red hair the nurse had.

"Oh, Buffy, you're awake," the person said, sounding very relived.

_Wait,_ Buffy thought, _I know that voice._ She looked up at the nurse. The red hair, the gentle look on her face. Buffy smiled, recognizing instantly who it was. "Willow," she said weakly, totally aware of how bad she sounded.

Willow nodded. "It's me," she said. She smiled at Buffy. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Kyle!" Buffy said, suddenly sounding worried. "How is he?"

Before Willow could answer the door to her room opened and two people walked in. Some lady Buffy had never met lead Kyle over to her bed.

Kyle kissed Buffy's forehead. He turned to Willow. "Does Mommy have a boo-boo?" he asked. "I can make it better."

Willow smiled, mouthing 'He's so cute' to Buffy. Buffy smiled. Willow turned back to Kyle. "She's going to be fine," Willow answered the little boy.

"What happened?" Buffy asked as she saw the other woman leave the room, leaving just Willow, her, and Kyle.

Willow sighed. "You were in a car accident," she said. She smiled. "It's ok. The driver had it worst, but he's gonna make it as well. Kyle's fine, barely a scratch on his body."

Buffy nodded and pointed to her bandaged wrist. "I'm guessing this is the worst of it," she said, looking up at Willow.

Willow nodded. "Right," she said, handing Kyle a lollipop. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked Buffy quickly, since she was not sure what kind of parent Buffy was. She was almost certain that Buffy was a fine mother, but some things like that varied from parent to parent and she didn't want to get in trouble or anything.

"No," Buffy answered, lying back down on her bed. Her eyes grew wide. "Dawn! The Key! Glory!"

Willow smiled. "It's ok." She took a deep breath before explaining. "After you left, Giles told us about Dawn. Spike had a sex-bot made to look like you so we used that to help keep the vampires and demons down. Glory never figured out who the Key was. She never did her ritual and we defeated her. She can never come back."

Buffy smiled back at the witch. "And you work here?" she asked. This wasn't the Willow she remembered. Well, it kinda was. She was just different.

Willow nodded. "Yea, it's my job."

Buffy smiled. "I missed you," she admitted. "I wanted to call you all, but I couldn't."

The door opened again and a woman walked in. The woman smiled at Willow and looked at Buffy. "Oh goddess!" she exclaimed. She looked closer at Buffy, trying to see if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. "I-is that- is that Buffy?" she asked.

Buffy smiled, recognizing the person. The stammer in her voice, the light brown/ blondish hair. "Hey Tara," she said. "You work here too?" she asked.

"Oh n-no," Tara said. "I, uh, I run a daycare with a friend of mine."

Buffy nodded. "Great," she said, relived that she would have a place to send Kyle when she would go to work…somewhere. "And how's Dawn, my mother, Giles, and Xander?" She looked around the room. "Can I call them?"

Willow shook her head. "Buffy," she said in a gentle tone, sitting down next to her best friend, "you're mom…she…she died. A little while after you left." She didn't know what else to say. "Sorry," she added when nothing better came to mind.

Buffy felt her mouth drop. "Oh," she said.

Willow nodded, standing up. "Ok," she told Buffy. "Let's get you home." With that she took Kyle by the hands and headed out the door, Tara and Buffy right behind her.

* * *

1630 Revello Drive

Buffy opened the door slowly and crept into her house, Kyle right behind her. She flipped the lights in the hallway on.

"Dawn?" she called as Willow and Tara headed upstairs. She had been told that after her mother died Willow and Tara moved in, Tara claiming to be Buffy and Dawn's cousin and making her and Willow Dawn's legal guardians until Buffy came back.

A tall teenaged girl stuck her head out from the kitchen. "Yea?" she asked. She blinked a few times, dropping the hat she had in her hands and spitting out the water she had in her mouth.

"Oh," Dawn said, walking down the hallway towards her older sister. "Hey Buffy!" she said, hugging Buffy tightly.

"Nice to see you too," Buffy said, returning the hug with just as much affection. "Ok, ok, watch it! Slayer needs to breathe!"

Dawn let go. "Oh, sorry," she said.

"Nice shirt," Buffy told Dawn, raising her eyebrow and looking at the blinding orange shirt on Dawn.

"Hey, I didn't have time to change from when I got home from work," Dawn protested defensively.

"Work?" Buffy asked.

"DoubleMeat Palace," Dawn said with a sigh. "I work there." She frowned. "What is the other meat in their burgers?" She frowned again. "Maybe I don't want to know." Dawn looked down at the little boy who was hiding behind Buffy, scared to be around all these people he didn't know.

"Who's he?" Dawn asked, gesturing at Kyle.

Buffy smiled proudly. "My son," she answered, picking Kyle up. She looked her son in the eye. "Kyle, it's ok. This is Aunt Dawn." Kyle buried his head in Buffy's shoulder. Buffy smiled and looked at Dawn. "He's shy."

Dawn nodded. "I see," she said with a tiny laugh. She sighed. "Ok, well, I got the early shift tomorrow, so I better get some sleep."

Buffy nodded. "Right," she said. She watched her sister head up the stairs. She turned to Kyle. "Ok, you," she said. "We are going to get you ready for bed."

With that, Buffy picked her son up and carried him upstairs. Willow had blown up an air mattress for him and had placed it next to Buffy's bed. Buffy changed Kyle and laid him down in his bed. Then she went to bed as well.

* * *

"Mommy, wake up! Wake up!" Buffy groaned, knowing the voice and knowing that only her son would be hitting her on the head with a pillow, getting her to wake up.

"I'm awake!" Buffy said with a yawn. "See?"

Kyle nodded. He was bouncing with excitement. "Aunt Tawa is makin' pancakes!" he said excitedly.

Buffy smiled. She was glad that Kyle felt he could trust these people that he had met the day before. "Ok, how about you go down there and I'll be there as soon as I get dressed."

Kyle nodded, running down the stairs.

A few minutes later, Buffy sat at the table with some pancakes in front of her. Dawn was on one side of her, Kyle on the other. Buffy smiled.

"So, how have things been going?" she asked as she poured some maple syrup on one of her pancakes.

Willow smiled. "Things have been going ok actually. No big baddies around, just a vamp here or there or maybe a demon." She popped a piece of pancake into her mouth.

Buffy nodded. "Ok, how many things are the same way they were before I left?"

Tara sighed and tried to think of what things were like before Buffy left. "Well, Mr. Giles still owns the Magic Box. He was going to go back to England and leave the shop to Anya, but…uh, something came up," she said, not wanting to tell Buffy what had happened.

Buffy nodded as she began to understand. Giles was going to leave the country, but she did first so Giles decided it would be best for him to stay in Sunnydale. "Anything else?"

Willow thought for a second. "Uh, Xander still does construction. He's in charge of the building the new gym for the high school now."

"Sunnydale High?" Buffy asked curiously, raising an eyebrow over at Willow. "The school that tried to kill us for three years? Xander's helping to rebuild it?"

Willow nodded slowly, almost as if with sadness. "Well, it passes the time for Xander. He has nothing else to do."

Buffy frowned, once again looking confused. "Nothing else…" she began, wondering what Willow had meant but figured it was not anything to serious. Before she could ponder more, Dawn screeched as she looked at the clock, breaking off Buffy's concentration.

"School," the teenager muttered. "Right. Wouldn't want to be late."

"You'll survive," Willow promised as she reached for the car keys from the middle of the kitchen counter. "Come on, I'll drive you in."

"Right," Dawn said again as she grabbed a few things to eat for lunch, not wanting to ever trust cafeteria food ever since Xander had told her about the rat poison incident. "See you tonight, Buffy," she added before she followed Willow out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine, yea yea yea…

Author's Note: Yes, I realize it's been a very long time, but what can I say? Other stories got in the way.

Chapter Two

Buffy walked up to the construction site for the new high school. She was eager for the opportunity to see Xander again. She wondered how much he had changed. Probably not that much, she thought. He always struck her as the kind of guy who would stay the same.

Buffy sighed. It felt different to be alone. For the past years, she had always had either Kyle or Riley with her in public. It was almost mandatory. Right now, Kyle was with Tara checking out the daycare. Buffy would presumably be going back to work, and she and Tara both agreed it would be better to get him adjusted to the daycare as quickly as possible. Unless of course he hated it, Buffy told herself. If he hated it, then she would not make him go back until it was necessary.

Buffy sighed again as she saw a worker pass by. "Excuse me," she called. "Do you know where I could find Xander Harris?" she asked.

"What's it to you?" the worker asked.

"We used to be really close," Buffy said. "I'm back in town," she added.

The man shrugged and pointed towards the inside of what resembled a gym. Buffy thanked him and quickly walked inside. "Xander," she called. "Xander," she repeated in a louder tone. "Xand, it's me. I'm back," she called. "Are you in here?"

She heard noises coming from above her. "Xand, that you?" she asked.

The man came down from the tops of the gym and removed his hard hat. He still looked like the same old Xander. Some things never change. "Buffy," Xander said as a form of greeting. He smiled slightly then hugged her.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," Buffy said as she hugged Xander back tightly. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you?"

Xander nodded. "'Bout half as much as I missed you," he said. "Here, sit," he said as the two of them sat down on some bleachers. "How'd things work out with Riley? Did you catch him in time?"

Buffy shrugged. "Yes and no," she admitted. "In the short run, we were happy. Married even for a few years."

"And I wasn't invited?" Xander asked in mock anger.

Buffy groaned. "It's not a moment I care to remember right now," she told him. "We recently divorced."

"Oh," Xander said sadly as he once again pulled Buffy into a hug. "I'm sorry," he told her.

"Sorry to you, too," Buffy responded. "I guess things didn't work out with Anya?"

Xander looked at her oddly. "You didn't hear? They didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Buffy asked fearfully.


End file.
